Earl Joseph Banks

Earl Joseph (E.J.) Banks, Jr., 87, of Galena, Missouri, formerly of Belle and Marshall, died Sunday, June 26, 2011 at the Christian Health Care in Nixa, Mo.
E.J. was born on August 9, 1923 in Marshall, Missouri. He was the son of the late Earl J. Banks, Sr. and Fairy Marie Parson Banks. He was a 1941 graduate of Marshall High School.
On October 4, 1942 he married Mary Louise Kemple, who passed away in 2006. He and Mary moved from Marshall to Belle in 1972. E.J. and Mary owned and operated several restaurants in Marshall and Belle. He was a member of the Community of Christ Church, and for many years he served as Pastor for the churches of Linn and Belle, Mo. Just prior to the Mary's death, they moved to Galena to live with his daughter, Lynda.
E.J. was a veteran of World War II, serving in the U.S. Army Air Corps in Iceland.
Surviving E.J. are three sons, Larry Gene Banks and wife Dale of Springfield, Mo., Kenneth LaVern Banks and wife Jill of Blackburn, Mo. and Richard Leland Banks and wife Lenee of Orange, Texas, one daughter Lynda Ruth Jenkins of Galena, Mo., one brother Dean Banks, and one sister, Maxine Scott, both of Marshall, Mo., 13 grandchildren, 15 great grandchildren, 3 great great grandchildren, two step grandchildren, two step great grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.